


To All the Knights I’ve Loved Before

by resthefuture



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - To All the Boys I've Loved Before Fusion, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Galladon is alive because I need sidekick, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22052920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resthefuture/pseuds/resthefuture
Summary: Brienne Tarth had three crushes in her life and she wrote them letters she never intends to send. Now, the last of her crushes, Renly Baratheon admitted he is gay, but he received the letter confirming Brienne’s love for him. What she is supposed to do?
Relationships: Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Renly Baratheon/Loras Tyrell
Comments: 23
Kudos: 69





	To All the Knights I’ve Loved Before

**Author's Note:**

> This story is heavily inspired by Netflix movie - To All the Boys I've Loved Before, so any similarity is not purely coincidental.  
> It is a silly story that, I thought, would fit this (post)Christmasy atmosphere :)  
> I am also sorry for any mistakes as English is not my native language.
> 
> Hapy New Year's Eve everyone!!

Brienne found herself sitting on a bench in the middle of her childhood playground once again. She spent so many afternoons here playing hide and seek and sliding down on that silver thing. It was here where she met Renly for the first time. The Baratheons moved to their street at the beginning of her seventh grade.

Brienne and Galladon were running around their district when they spotted a black-haired guy sitting on _their_ bench. It’s not like they would claim ownership over the old bench which was so old Brienne couldn’t even tell the original colour of it. The playground was just empty most of the time, so a new face caught their attention.

Brienne looked around herself. It seemed like yesterday. Here they are, the three of them together.  
“Thanks, guys,” Renly looked at the blonde siblings sitting around him. “I knew you’d understand,” he smiled at them. “I just don’t know what should I say to my parents. It would be much easier to have support at least from my siblings, but Robert and Stannis are just-“ Renly sighed.

She felt hurt, lonely at first. Even a little betrayed at first.

Then she was ashamed. One of her best friends was having a hard time and Brienne was sure it took a lot of courage to do a coming out at the age of sixteen in front of your friends. It wasn’t fair from her to feel betrayed by that. Renly didn’t mean to hurt her.

It was not his fault Brienne has a huge crush on him since she was thirteen.

“Renly,” she heard her brother’s comforting voice. “It’s going to be alright, I’m sure of it,” Galladon put his left hand around his shoulders. “They love you very much,” he assured him.

~~~

When the two of them got home, Brienne went straight to her room without dinner. After all, she was not hungry. She sat on her bed for a while scrolling mindlessly on her phone. If she had to pick the worst day of her life, this one would be in top-three for sure.

Brienne stood up and walked across the room toward her desk. She opened the middle drawer and removed the green box out of it. Her secret box. There were three letters inside, each of them to a different recipient. Brienne turned them over to see the names. She smiled sadly at how deplorable she was. Writing a letter to you crush you’re never going to send.

 _You’re a pathetic fool, Brienne Tarth_ , she thought.

_The first letter was written for Alys Estermont. Brienne met Alys when she was eight years old during the Aquatic Tarth Games. She and Galladon spend their summer at their grandmother’s place. Both of them just started with rowing, so they took a chance to join the race. Brienne won in her category and the following day, she was cheering for her cousin in swimming competition. There was a celebration after during which her cousin introduced her to Alys Estermont. He was nice and kind. The first one she ever danced with. It doesn’t matter it was just cha-cha slide dance._

_The second one was for Jaime Lannister. They have known each other for so long, they even went to kindergarten together. Brienne always thought of him as an annoyingly loud but funny boy. This kinda changed with the Oberyn’s birthday party during her fifth grade._

_The birthday boy decided it’s time to play hide and seek in Martell’s huge water gardens. Brienne loved to play hide and seek when she was small, but since she was amongst the tallest people in her year, along with Jaime of course, it has become more difficult to hide. She heard Oberyn was already at the number seventy-five when Brienne realized she didn’t find any place for her. She turned around to see a huge willow tree. Brienne quickly climbed up to treetop where she could disguise herself with the huge leaves.  
“And I thought I’d be the only here,” she heard Jaime Lannister’s voice above her. Brienne looked up to see his grinning smile. She wanted to say something but then she spotted Oberyn walking under the tree, so she remained silent. _

_“I think we’re safe now,” Jaime said after a few minutes Oberyn left their tree. Brienne nodded. Jaime was climbing down when Brienne saw the lowest bough cracked a little under his weight. He made it safely to the ground. Brienne hesitated. She was even bigger then Jaime.  
“Are you coming?”  
“Eh…It seems I’m a bit stuck here,” Brienne pointed at the bough. She saw confusion on his face at first, but then he nodded. It was too high to jump down.  
“I’ll catch you,” Jaime said while she looked nervously around to come up with another way down. Brienne laughed.  
“You’ll catch me?” There was no way he could do that. She has a few inches and pounds on him.  
“Why not? I’m strong enough!”  
“I didn’t mean to offend you, I’m just…heavy,” Brienne said.  
“Well, you really have no choice, I guess. Unless you want me to call the fire brigade to escort you down like a kitten,” he smiled at her. “C’mon wench, I promise I’ll catch you.”_

_Brienne wanted to ask why the hell he was calling her wench but then decided to let it go. She looked down on him and Jaime gave her his assuring smile. Brienne closed her eyes and jumped down. To be honest, Brienne expected to fall hard on the ground, but she found herself in the strong arms of Jaime Lannister.  
“Eh, I-“ Brienne broke herself free from his armful. “Thank you, Jaime.”  
“You’re welcome, wench!” Jaime said with his grinning smile. She really wanted to ask him what the hell wench was, but before she could ask, Cersei and Elia appeared next to them._

_She knew it was stupid, but in her eyes, Jaime Lannister became the knight in the shining armour._

_And then, of course, the last one was for Renly. Unlike with Jaime, there was no situation to point out like that was the moment Brienne fell for the youngest Baratheon. She just woke up one morning and it was there. Renly was handsome, witty, charming and caring._

_And gay._

Brienne threw the letters back into the box. What was the point? Not that she would ever send them, it was just a form of escape from the ugly everyday reality. And now, the only one of them who showed some interest in her just admitted he’s into boys.

_Well, how sad is that?_

Brienne picked up the box and went to the kitchen. She opened the cabinet under the sink and threw the box into the trash.

 _No more stupid crushes_ , she decided.

~~~

Tuesdays were just horrible, not only because there was no practise on Tuesdays and Fridays, but today she didn’t even have any free periods except lunch. As a junior, Brienne would expect to have at least one. Well, not on Tuesdays.

“Ahh, move aside!” She heard the sharp voice behind her. Brienne turned back to see the pretty face of Cersei Marbrand.  
“Aren’t you a little bit embarrassed? You’re so big I cannot even reach my locker,” Cersei said as Brienne sighed. The two of them had their lockers next to each other since the eight grade and this was an old routine for Brienne.  
“Everything’s alright?” Jaime appeared next to them as he gave Cersei a quick peck on her cheek.

 _The world really hates me,_ Brienne thought.

“Yes, honey. I was just saying to Brienne that our rowing team is so lucky to have someone strong as her,” she gave Brienne her fake smile and went to her class.

Jaime looked at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, she’s just-“ he waved his hand toward Cersei.  
“Don’t worry about it, Jaime,” she slammed the locker and disappeared in the crowd.

There were times when she would let Cersei Marbrand bully her, but she was no longer like that. Of course, Brienne was not popular like her and her friends, but she had Galladon and her teammates from the rowing club to cover her back.  
“Hey Brienne!” she saw Lynesse Hightower, one of her teammates, waving at her when she entered her Geography class. She sat next to her.  
“You look like a mess,” Lynesse said sincerely.  
“Thanks, Lyn. That was exactly what I wanted to hear,” Brienne sighed.  
“Hush. You know I didn’t mean in like that. What’s going on?”

Brienne didn’t even know where to start.

Renly.

Lack of sleep.

Cersei.

Stupid Tuesdays.

“Just tired,” she gave her a smile and opened her textbook.

~~~

Brienne thought of it during her lunch break. Yes, she may not be a popular kid, but her brother Gal is such an easy-going person it’s almost impossible to not like him. He _’_ s a year older than her which means Brienne spent most of her time with the seniors from his class and the rowing squad rather than her junior classmates.

She looked behind herself to see the big yellow table in the middle of the school cafeteria.

The centre table.

For some of the students of Westeros High, being a permanent member of the centre table or being invited to sit with them during lunch means you are a half-god or something like that. She found it incredibly stupid.

Not all of them were jerks, though. They were mostly seniors, Robert Baratheon together with Ned Starks, both football players. Brienne never liked Renly´s older brother, he was too arrogant for his own good, but Ned and his girlfriend were good friends of Gal and she liked them as well.

Then there was Rhaegar Targaryen, the headmaster’s son and president of the drama club. Brienne didn’t know him too well, but she always thought Rhaegar was a bit too affectionate.

The Martells siblings were sitting on the left side of the table. Even though Oberyn is senior and Elia is junior, it was always Oberyn Brienne spent more time with. She always like the way Oberyn did what he want to, no matter what people thought, and of course, he was the only decent Thai-box sparring partner in the school.

The youngest student out here was Lyanna Stark, freshman and Ned’s younger sister. Brienne never cared for gossips, but even she saw the look Lyanna got from both Robert and Rhaegar. Brienne suddenly felt sorry for Elia, who was sitting next to Rhaegar looking at him he was the Sun of her universe.

That painfully reminded her of Renly. Brienne shook her head. She didn’t want to think about _it._

And of course, Jaime Lannister and Cersei Marbrand. Both juniors, the ‘power couple’ of the Westeros High.

Jaime looked like he was dragged to the table. _Which he probably was,_ Brienne thought. He was a popular kid. The youngest basketball captain in the history of the school, very handsome with his piercing green eyes, sharp jawline and high cheekbones, the son of the wealthiest person in Westeros. But the best thing about Jaime, at least according to Brienne, was that he seemed so careless about this whole society ladder thing, which paradoxically made him even more popular amongst the Westeros High student body.

Cersei was a slightly different case. Brienne had to admit Cersei Marbrand is not only a pretty face but also clever as a fox. She’s not one of the cheerleaders swooning over handsome Jaime Lannister. Exactly opposite, straight-A student, class president since middle school and debate club leader.

They were all over themselves since Brienne could remember but they started dating during their eight grade, perfect couple indeed.

~~~

That is why Brienne is surprised when she heard the latest gossip the following week. Cersei and Jaime broke up.

 _She dumped him because of some college student,_ Brienne heard all around the main corridor. She felt sorry for him. Her sorrows were just inside her head and nobody knew about her stupid crush on Renly Baratheon, so she was safe.

On the other hand, _everybody_ knew about Jaime and Cersei. Brienne saw Jaime _’_ s face on her way to the parking lot that afternoon. He looked like a mess. His hair, usually perfectly styled, were ruffled and Brienne missed his constantly present half-smile on his face.

She probably looked to his direction for a longer time than she thought.  
“Bri!” Her brother emerged in their black corolla next to her as he rolled down the window, “Are you coming or what?”  
“Yeah, yeah,” she sat next to him as they drove away from the school. “Always in a hurry, huh,” Brienne murmured.  
“Of course, I _’_ m!” Gal said happily. “Its Friday! Friday means paaaarty,” huge smile appeared on his face. “I _’_ m meeting Jon, Cat, Ned, Oberyn and Jorah for the bowling today _’_ s evening. Care to join us?”

Brienne smiled. She truly loved her brother _’_ s efforts to socialize her. “Thanks, Gal, maybe next time. There will be a new episode of Dance with Dragons today,” Brienne smiled.  
“Oh, you’re such a nerd, Bri.”  
“But you love me anyway!”

~~~

Unlike others, Brienne likes Mondays. She has training in the morning and then her favourite history class. She was just on her way from the river to the locker room when she spotted Jaime sitting on the bench next to the shipyard. She didn’t understand what he is doing here, but then he spotted her and walked toward her.  
“Can we talk for a sec?” he asked Brienne while looking at Lynesse standing next to her. Brienne had no clue why, but she turned to Lyn.  
“I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” Her friend nodded and left the two of them alone.

“So, what’s going on?” Brienne asked him, trying not to sound so surprised. Jaime didn’t say anything, he just took the backpack off his shoulders and searched for something in it. Then, Brienne felt a cold sweat pour over her.

Jaime held a letter in his hand.

The green letter in which she confessed her crush on him

“Where-where did you-“ she stammered but before she could say more, Jaime cut her off.  
“Look, I really appreciate it,” he tried to give her a calming smile, but he failed. “I just, uh. It’s just a week after Cersei and I broke up so I’m not really looking for another relationship right now-“ Jaime was explaining herself.  
“Jaime,” Brienne stopped him trying to control her own voice. “I, eh, you know, this is just a big misunderstanding,” she said while looking at her foot. But then she found the courage to raise her head and look at him. “I didn’t mean it like-“ she was trying to explain when she spotted Renly marching to her with a red letter in his hand and confused look on his face.

Brine didn’t know what to do so she did the first thing that came to her mind. She grabbed Jaime by the lapels of his white polo shirt and kissed him.

She looked at Renly. He stopped in the middle of the path, jaw somewhere close to the ground. Brienne pulled away from Jaime.

He looked completely perplexed.

Brienne run away.

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_ She thought when she reached the car.

_Oh boy. I wish I just didn’t wake up today._

She started the car and went straight home. When Brienne got to her bedroom, she lay down and finally feeling the anxiety leaving her. Brienne took a deep breath.

_Seven hells, what happened with those letters?_

She couldn’t face Renly, not just a few weeks after he confessed being a gay. Writing him a love-letter would be such an awful thing. She needed to act it was just pure misunderstanding.

That is why she kissed Jaime.

_Hell! I kissed Jaime!_

Her first kiss _ever_. It was just a very quick kiss on the lips, but still.

_What I’m gonna do now?_

She grabbed her phone and wrote to her brother.

_Hey, sorry, I just needed to get home ASAP. Please, ask someone for a ride!_

“I need to get a shower,” she said to her reflection in the display. After the warmest and probably the longest shower she ever took, Brienne returned to her bed and noticed a new message alert on her phone.

 _Probably from Gal,_ she thought.

It was a text from Jaime on varyssenger.

_Jaime: I think we should talk?_

Well, that was the last thing she wanted to do but she owed him an explanation. He deserves to know what is going on here.

_Brienne: Yeah, I guess._

_Jaime: You know the coffee shop on Silk Street?_

Brienne smiled. That was her favourite place.

_Brienne: Yes. Around 2 pm?_

_Jaime: Yep_

~~~

She was sitting at _The Farm_ at 1:55 already sipping from her flat white waiting for Jaime to show up. The Farm was a lovely small coffee place where you can enjoy your beverage while reading one of their books. Brienne and Lyn were here a couple of times, writing essays and papers to school.

Brienne checked her sports watch. 1:59. She raised her head when she heard the door open and Jaime walked in. Brienne also noticed the wide smile the waitress gave him.  
She waved at him. “Here!”

Jaime sat next to her and ordered a double espresso for himself. “So?” he turned his attention to her when the waitress left them alone.  
“So what?”  
“I thought we should talk about what happened today,” Jaime explained. “And by that, I mean the fact that you actually kissed me,” he gave her wide grin. “I mean, not that other girls at school don’t have the same idea, but they don’t act on it as you did.”

“Oh, you’re such an ass!” Brienne snapped but she was glad he didn’t seem to be disgusted because of it. But he could be an arrogant asshole sometimes.

“Keep calm, Tarth,” Jaime sipped from his coffee. “Just tell me, why did you write that letter to me? Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s kinda cute you think I’m your knight in shining armour because I once saved you falling from the tree,” that stupid self-confident grin again, “But you know, normal people usually deals with it face-to-face?”

_Oh, don’t mock me, Jaime Lannister. As you would ever listen to my feelings for you._

“It’s not what it looks like,” Brienne said in her defence.  
“So tell me,” Jaime said.  
“Tell what?”  
“Tell me what it is?”

And she did.

“So, you wrote these letters when you were small kid, well, not so small in your case,” he smiled and Brienne murmured something like an _idiot_. “And now somebody sent them?”

She nodded. Brienne still has to figure it out who it was.

“And Renly just told you he’s gay?”

Brienne nodded again.

“And you still have a crush on him?”

Her cheeks felt hot but nodded once again.

“And you still have a crush on me?” he asked with a smile.

Now she felt her cheeks must be burnt with embarrassment. “I was bloody ten!” she shouted at him  
“Ouch, wench, calm down. No more teasing, I promise,” he sipped again from his cup. “Although, one thing about the kiss-“  
“Oh, just shut up!” Brienne slapped his forearm. “I told you I kissed you because he was standing right behind us! I had to do something!” She saw Jaime wanted to tease her a little bit more, but he remained silent.

He looked at her. “So, what are you gonna do?”

Well, she had no clue. But she was definitely _not_ ready to face Renly. 

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Brienne confessed. “Didn’t really have time to think about it.”

“Well, I have a proposition for you,” Jaime straightened up, now more formal then she was used to.  
“Proposition?” she asked suspiciously.  
“Yeah. We could pretend that we actually date,” he said. Brienne stared at him.  
“What?” _Did the waitress put something in his drink?_

  
“Well, you want Renly to think this whole thing is a misunderstanding, and if you have a boyfriend, he’ll probably believe you,” he explained to her. “And I want to make Cersei jealous, hence I need a girlfriend. Win-win situation,” he seemed to be pleased with himself.

Brienne thought about it. It sounded like a stupid idea, but it was actually a win-win situation. At least for her. “Why do you think Cersei will be jealous of me?” Brienne asked him. She doubted beautiful Cersei is going to be jealous of plain, big Brienne.

“Why not?”  
“Well, I’m ugly,” she said.  
“Have you ever heard saying that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” he asked her.  
“Of course, my dad says this to me at least once a week,” she smiled at it. Her dad hated when Brienne spoke about herself in a bad way.  
“Well, you father is a clever man, then,” Jaime said, and Brienne didn’t really understand. _Was that compliment?_

“Why me? You can have any girl you point at!” Brienne still did get it.  
“Oh, you know how to stroke man’s ego, don’t you?” and Brienne hated herself for a moment. He definitely didn’t need to boost his confidence. “The truth is I don’t want to date somebody, I want Cersei back,” Jaime seemed to be absolutely devoted to her which Brienne made even angrier on Cersei Marbrand. She should be happy to have a boy like Jaime by her side, even though he can find someone for a one-night stand to piss her off, he will go through this charade for her.

“Okay,” Brienne agreed, and he smiled. “But we need to set some rules.”  
“Rules?”  
“Yes, rules how to act like we’re actually a couple,” she explained to him.  
“We can just hang out, hold and kiss from time to time, huh?”  
“Well, we need to agree on those terms.”

“So, what kind of terms do you propose?” he wanted to know after he ordered another round for them. Brienne thought about it for a while.  
“Well, to start, you will go for my rowing race and I’ll cheer for you during the basketball matches,” she wrote that down in her phone.  
“Sounds reasonable,” Jaime agreed. “I think we should be seen together in the corridors. I could walk you to the lessons,” he proposed.  
“Yes, sure,” she wrote that down too.  
“Also, we should sit together during the lunch break,” Jaime said. Brienne didn’t like the idea, but to make Cersei jealous, it made perfect sense, so she agreed.  
“And we should kiss, obviously.”  
“No,” Brienne stopped him.  
“No? Do you think people will believe we’re together if we won’t kiss each other?” he asked in disbelief.  
“It’s enough my first relationship is fake, I don’t want everything to be fake too,” she said to him.  
“Okay,” Jaime sighed. “So at least small peck on your cheek once in a while?”  
“Yeah, that will do, I guess.”  
“And the last thing. You have to go with me to Robert’s cottage for the winter break,” he told her.

 _Oh no, no, no!_ The party at the Robert Baratheon’s during the spring break was infamous amongst the students of Westeros High. It was crazy there, at least from what she heard. Alcohol, drugs, sex and god knows what else.

_Renly, of course._

It was one of those party you could see in the movies or television shows, including alcohol and sex.

“No, absolutely not!”  
“Oh c’mon! Nobody would let their boyfriend or girlfriend go alone there! If you don’t go, nobody will believe we’re a couple.”

Well, Jaime had a point on that. Brienne thought about it. Spring break is at the beginning of February and it was the middle of October now and she was sure by the time of winter break, they will be already done with this.

“Alright,” she sighed in defeat.  
“Alright, so we’re settled then?”

Brienne looked on her notes in the phone. “Yes, I’ll send you a screenshot of it.”  
“Good,” Jaime stood up and checked the time on his phone. 5.30 pm. “We have a family dinner, but I’m running late already. Do you need a ride?” he asked her.  
“No, I’m fine, thanks. I take a walk home.”  
“Okay,” he grabbed his jacket from the chair. “See you tomorrow?”  
“Yes.”

When he closed the door behind himself, Brienne exhaled sharply.

She looked at her phone.

_So, I’m now fake-dating Jaime Lannister?_

~~~

The following morning, Brienne was waiting in the kitchen for Gal to get ready so they could leave to school. She checked the time once again.  
“C’mon Gal!” Brienne shouted toward his room upstairs as her father appeared next to her pouring morning cup of tea in the morning.  
“Hi, sweetheart,” Selwyn gave her kiss on the forehead. “Did you sleep well?”  
“Yes, like a baby,” she confirmed but didn’t look to his eyes. Her dad could always say if she was lying, and after everything that had happen yesterday, her sleep was everything but peaceful.

When Brienne wanted to call her brother once again, she heard a toot behind her back. She quickly turned just to see a red sports car on their driveway.

“Who’s that?” her father asked suspiciously.

 _Oh, no!_ She thought when she spotted blonde hair of Jaime Lannister in the car. She took her backpack and keys and left the house, leaving completely confused Selwyn Tarth behind her.

“What are you doing here?” she wanted to know as soon as she reached his car.  
“Isn’t it obvious? You’re my girlfriend, I’m taking you to school,” Jaime gave her one of his innocent smiles. “So, can we go now? I don’t want to be late!”  
Brienne chuckled. “As if you ever worried being in school on time!”  
“Well, now, I have you to command me, right?” Brienne sat to the passenger seat and Jaime started the car.  
“This is a ridiculously expensive car, you know that, right?” She was perfectly happy to drive her and her brother’s five years old Toyota Corolla. This was definitely level up.  
“I got it for my sixteenth birthday,” he said is this was a normal gift for a sixteen-years-old. Well, maybe for people like Lannisters it was. “Never ask for it,” Jaime told her, “I’d be happy to drive everything that has four wheels.”

Seeing Brienne Tarth getting out of the Jaime Lannister’s super expensive car on the school parking lot was something students of Westeros High did not expect.

At least that is what Brienne thought as she walked toward the main building. She felt all eyes are on her and she didn’t know what to do.

_This was a terrible idea! I can’t do that!_

She felt Jaime grabbing her hand into his and giving her a reassuring smile. Walking through the school, she saw all the bewildered faces looking at the couple. When they passed the group of cheerleaders, Brienne is sure she heard _what the fuck_ from one of them. Her cheeks must be redder than Jaime’s car right now.

As they reached her advanced calc class, Jaime gave her quick peck on her cheek as he left for his Biology class. Brienne noticed Renly who stood next to his locker looking at her with pure confusion. She quickly went to inside the classroom.

_This is a nightmare!_

~~~

The rest of the week seemed to be better, at least people just started at Brienne these days. No more jaws hitting the floor.

Brienne has a couple of classes together with Jaime, especially being paired with him in Chemistry class has its advantage. He is surprisingly very good in natural sciences, whereas she helped him with their Valyrian language class.

“Sorry, Brienne,” Jaime apologised. “I know I’m shit with this,” he nodded toward the textbook explaining Valyrian grammar rules. “Cersei used to help me with this and English.”  
“It’s okay Jaime, you can’t be good at everything,” she assured him.  
“Yeah well,” Jaime ruffled his hair. “Tell that to my father.” He looked around. “It's just-“ he made sure the school library was empty, “I have dyslexia,” Jaime explained.

Brienne stared at him in complete shock. “But-but you know so much about the history from the books-“ she didn’t understand. Jaime was the same history nerd as she was. Even before this weird fake-dating thing, they often paired up to do projects. _Probably because Cersei was taking different class_ , Brienne thought.  
Jaime smiled at her, and for once, it was not the smug grin, but sincere smile. “Yeah well, I have plenty of audio-books on my phone, so I’ll listen to that most of the time.”

The rest of the week is not that bad anymore, except the launch breaks when Brienne has to sit with the centre table instead of the table she usually shares with Galladon, Loras, Margarery and Renly.

_Renly._

Brienne shook her head. She doesn’t want to think about the hurt face of Renly Baratheon.

When she first sat with Jaime during the launch, Cersei stared at her the whole time, it made Brienne so uncomfortable she wasn’t able to finish her sandwich. But then she really enjoyed Jaime’s match against Pentos, and he promised her he’ll come to her rowing race on Sunday afternoon.

~~~

When Brienne got back home on Friday afternoon, she felt so tired. She would never think that fake-dating Jaime Lannister would be that exhausting. Not that it would be that bad, surprisingly. Jaime is funny and easy-going.

 _And quite charming when it comes to that,_ Brienne thinks. That reminds her of the time she wrote him that letter, admitting her huge crush on him.

 _Stop it_ , she warned herself. _Not again._

The fact she cannot admit the truth, that she’s actually not in a relationship with Jaime, at home was killing her.

The Friday afternoon is release. Brienne can finally breathe out freely. Galladon is out with Ashara Dayne and her father is still at work. Her plan is to just chill and relax in front of the TV for the rest of the day and then took a hot bath with her favourite book. 

Brienne was watching the last episode of _The Smiling Knight_ when her phone rang. A message from Jaime.

_Picking you up in a couple of minutes._

Brienne is surprised. They didn’t make any plans for today, but when Jaime appeared at her doorstep in nice blue polo T-shirt with her all times favourite; ginger lemonade and cheese crackers, she has no objections.

“How do you know I like ginger lemonade?” Brienne asked him. “Most people I know hate it.”  
“You drank it at Oberyn’s party,” Jaime shrugged.  
“You remember that?” she is surprised. It’s been a while.  
“Of course, it was when I made my knight-in-shining-armour moment!”  
“Oh, don’t mock me!” Brienne slapped his hand.

“Fine, fine. I’m sorry, my lady,” Jaime bowed and Brienne had to chuckle at his goofiness. Jaime opened the cheese crackers while he sat on the sofa. “You know,” Brienne returned from the kitchen with the two glasses of the ginger lemonade, “You shouldn’t eat this junk food,” she nodded towards the crackers, “athletes are not supposed to eat that.”

Jaime grinned at her and put as many crackers in his mouth as possible. “You are idiot,” she stated.  
“Well, you’re athlete too and I saw you eating them every day at lunch,” he countered. When he spotted the blush on her cheeks, he checked the time on his phone.  
“Anyway, there is a party at Rhaegar’s today,” Jaime informed her. “So you should go change unless you want to be there at,” he looked down at her, “in your dolphins' pyjamas,” Jaime chuckled.

“Oh, piss off!” Brienne snapped at him. “I don’t like parties.”  
“Oh, imagine my surprise!” Jaime said affectionally. “But we should show up together somewhere outside of school, so hurry up.”

Before they even reached the Targaryen’s manor, Brienne could hear the loud music coming from the house. Jaime parked the car and before she could open the door, he did it for her.  
“What are you doing?” Brienne asked with smile, secretly pleased by him.

“I’m just trying to be gentleman,” Jaime said and Brienne spotted Cersei Marbrand coming from the main door towards her friends, watching both of them. “Cersei told me all the time I should open the car door for her, so I wanted to tease her a bit,” he explained to her and Brienne couldn’t help herself, but she felt bitterness.

Of course, he did because of Cersei.

Before she could think about it further, Jaime went to the kitchen for the drinks and the minute he left her, Margaery appeared next to her.

“Brienne!” she hugged her. “I haven’t seen you around lately,” her friend smirked at her pointing towards Jaime who was standing in the middle of the kitchen.  
“Yeah, I guess. Sorry for that,” Brienne apologised. “Been busy.”

“Yeah, I bet!” Margaery chuckled and Brienne felt her blush in her cheeks. “So, tell me everything! When did you start dating Jaime?”  
“Well, I didn’t really count the days-“ Brienne didn’t know what to say but Margaery cut her off.

“I’d certainly expect you’ll be much more enthusiastic considering the fact that your boyfriend is the hottest guy in the school,” her friend said while pointing towards Jaime. Next to him was standing Melara Hetherspoon with a huge smile on her face rolling hair on her finger.

Brienne saw as Jaime excused himself and went back to her and Margaery. “There you go,” he handed her the red cup and looked at Margaery.

“Hi,” he smiled at her. “You must be Margaery? Brienne told me a lot about you.” Marg smiled back at him and Brienne wonders the two of them would make a cute couple, both of them are beautiful and popular. “I’m Jaime.”  
“Yeah, I know your name, Lannister,” Margaery controlled. As if anyone in Westeros High wouldn’t know Jaime Lannister.

“Yo! Jaime!” a distinct voice of Bronn, one of Jaime’s teammates, interrupted them. Brienne turned around and saw at least half of the basketball team, all of them certainly wanted to party with their captain.

Jaime looked apologetically at Brienne. “We have so much to talk about with Marg, we’ll catch up later, okay?” she said, and he nodded, giving her a quick peck on her cheek. They sat on one of those leather sofas placed in the hall/living room of Targaryen’s manor.

For a moment she thought she should say hi to Rhaegar who hosted the party, but then decided no to. It's not like they were now friends just because they sit together during lunch. Before Brienne could think about it more, she heard a voice above her.

“Well, well, look who is here,” Cersei Marbrand appeared in front of them with a tight red dress that flatters her slim figure.

Brienne sighed.

“I didn’t know giants were now allowed to join the parties,” Cersei said as she looked down at Brienne.  
“Shut up, Marbrand,” Margaery said to her. “She’s here with Jaime.”

Cersei smiled falsely. “Yes, of course, she’s here with Jaime,” Cersei looked at the group of basketball players around Jaime. “Looks like he’s already bored with you, such a pity. But I understand completely, he must be disgusted with himself when he realized he went from obvious ten to one,” she looked at Brienne once again.

Brienne stands up. “Well, that’s really not your business, now,” she countered. Should she inform Jaime his plan is working? That Cersei is obviously jealous of him?

Cersei once again smiled with her fake smile. „That’s where you’re wrong,” and then she leaned forward to Brienne so that she could whisper to her ear. “Jaime is like a puppy. When I told him it’s over, he almost begged me on his knees. Just one word and he would come back,” and with that Cersei left them.

“Seven hells, she’s such a bitch!” Margaery stated.

Brienne uttered a sigh. Then she spotted through the window Renly and his two brothers talking with some people Brienne didn’t know in front of the house.

 _Can we go, now?_ She texted to Jaime, a little bit worried that he would want to stay here with his friends, and she would have to find another ride home.

She watched Jaime’s face as he received the message and nodded in her direction.

~~~

They fall into a routine. Jaime picked her up to drive her to school, then they had lunch together and then he gave her ride home. Brienne found herself sitting on each of his basketball games, while he did really cheer loudly during her rowing races.

She didn’t even realize it, but since November, they started to spend the weekends together as well. It started with one boring Saturday when Jaime texted her if she wanted to come over to watch some movie with him.

He picked some cheesy romantic movie about full of clichés.

“I realized it’s not really my business,” Brienne said after they finished the movie. “Why did you started going out with Cersei?”

Brienne didn’t really understand it. Of course, Cersei was pretty, probably the prettiest girl in the school, but she was not a very pleasant and gentle person to be around. On the other hand, Jaime seemed to be the opposite; kind and easy-going guy. And with his handsome features, he could easily get any girl he would want to.

Jaime was thinking for a while. “To be honest, I never really think about. My father and Cersei’s dad are business partners for more than three decades. We grew up together, our moms were best friends,” Jaime smiled, as he always did when speaking about his mom. “We played together since I can remember. So, it seemed natural that we started dating when we were fourteen.”

Brienne chuckled.

Jaime looked at her. “You know, everything that goes with the first love. Holding hands, first kiss and sex-“ Brienne cut him off there.

“Wow, enough, Romeo! I don’t need to know everything.”

“Anyway, I think we’re made for each other,” Jaime said with a sad smile on his face. “I never thought about someone else in that way,” he admitted.

_You deserve someone way better than Cersei Marbrand._

“What about you?” Jaime interrupted her thoughts. “How the things going with Renly?”  
“Actually,” she thought for a second, “We didn’t speak together directly since the ehm, accident. And I think it’s for the best. He believes we’re are together and probably thinks the letter was some kind of stupid joke or something.”

~~~

A week before Christmas, Brienne found herself in front of the mirror checking her appearance once again.

Jaime is taking her to the Christmas party that Tywin is hosting today. She really protested, but Jaime insisted she has to be there with him, because Cersei’s fathers is a partner for the Lannister Corp, so he and his daughter will be there.

When Brienne opened the door, she saw Jaime wearing a tuxedo for the first time.

 _He really looks gorgeous in it_ , she thought.

Brienne is a bit nervous about her outfit. She’s not used to wearing dresses at all, but Jaime seemed to be pleased by her appearance.

“Blue is a good colour on you, Brienne. It goes well with your eyes,” Jaime said when he looked at her properly. Brienne felt her cheeks are blushing. After the two months of fake-dating Jaime, she should get used to his flirty comments.

“Brienne?” she heard the voice of her father behind herself. Before she could say anything, Jaime entered the house.

“Hello, sir. You must be Brienne’s dad?” They shook hands as her dad nodded. “Pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Jaime.”

Selwyn chuckled. “No need to be so formal, Jaime. I’m Selwyn,” he smiled towards him. “Finally, I can meet the guy who stole the heart of my girl,” Selwyn looked at his daughter.  
“Dad!” Brienne protested. “Please, don’t embarrass me,” she begged him.  
Selwyn grinned. “Well, that’s the job description of being a dad.”

Jaime smiled at their exchange. He wishes his father would be as casual as Brienne’s dad.

Brienne sighed. “Just a minute,” she turned to Jaime. “I need to take my purse.”

Selwyn looked at him and Jaime thought if this is the time for the girls-dad-and-her-new-boyfriend-talk. But Selwyn Tarth surprised him.

“Brienne told me you play basketball?” he asked. Jaime nodded. “Which position?”  
“Shooting guard.”  
“I was a centre for the Storms' End Stags during my college years,” Selwyn smiled. “Best years of my life.”

“Okay, Jaime, I’m ready,” Brienne appeared in a hall and he nodded, opening the door.  
Selwyn turned to Brienne. “Have fun, kiddo,” he hugged her.

~~~

This was for sure the most boring party Brienne has ever been to. Most of the people there were businessmen at the age of fifty. The only other person close to her and Jaime’s age was Cersei, of course.

After Jaime introduced her to his father, Brienne left to restrooms to relax a bit. It was way too demanding to speak with Tywin Lannister.

“Hiding yourself already? And the party just started!” Brienne heard the voice behind herself when she reached the restrooms. She turned to the voice and spotted a small boy in the corner with a book in his lap.

From the photos she saw on Jaime’s phone and the stories he told her, this must be his brother, Tyrion.

“You’re Brienne, aren’t you?” he asked.  
“Yes. And you are Tyrion, right?” He nodded.  
“So, you’re hiding here?”  
“Yeah, I guess. You father is a bit too much.”

Tyrion chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

“And why are you here?” Brienne wanted to know as she checked her face in the mirror.  
“For the same reason as you do,” he explained. “I don’t really enjoy spending time with the father and other people in our family, except Jaime,” Tyrion put away the book. “I’ve started a boarding school in Dorne last year, so I’m not really close to them, anymore. The only person I miss in Dorne is my big brother,” he admitted. “He’s the best brother I could ask for. He always protected me, even though he could join the rest of the family who despises me.”

Brienne had to agree. Jaime truly was kind-hearted. She thought the boy who saved her in the water gardens back then has not changed at all. He has a huge heart and would do anything for people loyal to him. He was kind and gentle, always happy to help her when she needed.

And she tried to be the same for him.

In that moment, she realized she no longer thought about Renly.

It was Jaime who occupied her mind lately.

Before she could start panicking over it, Jaime appeared next to Tyrion. He already took off the bowtie and unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt. “Oh, here you are! I was searching for you in the last twenty minutes,” he looked at both of them. “Hiding again, Ty?” he mussed his younger brother’s hair and then looked at her.

“Are you okay, Brienne?”  
“Oh, yeah, sure. I’m fine,” she babbled, and Jaime studied her with confused look on his face.  
“Okay. I think it’s time to ditch it,” he proposed.

Tyrion smiled at his brother conspirationally. “I’m tired now anyway. Better go hit the sack.” He said goodbye to them and went upstairs.

“So, what do you think?” Jaime asked her when they were alone. “Ready to take a French leave?”

Brienne wanted nothing else than to leave the Lannister residence.

They stopped by for the milkshake close to their high school on their way to Brienne’s house.

“Have you thought about college yet?” Brienne asked him as she sipped from her banana milkshake.  
“Not really, to be honest. I always wanted to study history, but I know with the dyslexia, it would be probably too much. I like biology and chemistry as well, but it doesn’t matter anyway. My father has already picked me a place to study business and diplomacy at Lannisport,” he explained.

“I’m sorry.”  
“Thanks. What about you?”

“Well, I haven’t decided yet, but I was thinking about literature or journalism.”

“That sounds nice! I hope you’ll get anywhere you wish.”

“Thanks, Jaime. I’m sorry that your father is so strict. It must be hard for you.”

“Yeah, well, back when mum was there, father was not that like that. But after that, the things at home got worse. I hate the fact Tyrion is so far, but on the other hand, it’s probably better for him to be away from father.”

“When my mum died of cancer, we all were wrecks for some time as well,” Brienne admitted.

“I’m sorry, Brienne.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you. Since she left, I realized how hard is to open up to people for me. It hurts so much when the people you love leave you.”

Jaime nodded. “I completely understand that, but my mum always told me we have to enjoy every second of life and I think that’s a good way. It’s not possible to forget, but one day the pain is not that terrible as it was the day before.”

“I guess you’re right,” Brienne said. “I’m just not really good in confiding and since mum is not around, it’s even worse,” she smiled apologetically.

“I wouldn’t say so. You do a good job with me,” Jaime gave her one of his gentle smiles.

“Yeah, but that’s different,” Brienne countered. “This is fake-dating, so we’re just pretending.”

She saw his gaze froze. “Yeah, sure we’re.” He then cleared his throat. “So, um,” he checked his watch. “It’s getting late. We should head home so that your dad won’t get mad.”

~~~

Winter break came earlier than Brienne would like to. Their deal was still ongoing, so she has to go with him to Robert’s party.

Of course, Renly is going as well, together with Loras. At least Margaery accepted the invitation as well, or she would be there alone, except Jaime. But things were a bit different since the Christmas party with Jaime.

They are still officially a couple, but Jaime behaves differently these days. He is so detached. Brienne missis his constant flirting, his disgusted face when she puts siracha sauce on almost every meal they have or the times when they were watching Friends in his place and he puts his head on her shoulder somewhere between the second and third episode.

She thinks it’s probably because of Cersei. She didn’t bring her date to the Christmas Party and Brienne checked she has deleted all pictures with Euron from her Instagram profile. Jaime probably saw that as well, so he probably thinks Cersei is single again and the cottage party is his chance.

Jaime drove her and Margaery to Baratheon’s cottage. It’s very pretty, Brienne has to admit. Far away in the North, close to the old Winterfell castle. It looks like a winter wonderland with all the snow around.

“Okay, I need to tell you something,” Brienne took Margaery’s hand after they unpacked. Jaime is downstairs with Robert and Bronn.  
Marg looked at her worriedly. “What’s going on?”  
“Please don’t judge me, Marg. I didn’t want to tell anybody but it’s just killing me.”

“Sure, Brie,” her friend took her hand. “You know you can tell me everything, right?” Brienne nodded.

“Well, Jaime and I, we’re not really dating.”  
“What?” Margaery didn’t understand.  
“It’s fake-relationship, Marg. We’re pretending to date each other, so Cersei would get jealous and I don’t have to deal with Renly,” Brienne explained.

“Renly? What’s going on with Renly?”

Then Brienne told her the whole story.

“Wow! I mean-“ she looked at her, “This is just fucked up, right?”  
Brienne nodded. “You have no idea how much,” she sighed.

“I think I know,” Margaery thinks with a secret smile.  
“What do you mean?” Brienne didn’t understand.

“Brie,” her friend sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I see the way you look at him. You like him, don’t you?”

Brienne felt her cheeks went red. “I do.”

Margaery smiled again. “But I also see the way Jaime looked at you. He’s besotted with you, Brienne. Believe me.”  
She looked at her with shock. “I’m sure he is just well at pretending-“  
“He is not, Brienne. I’m sure he likes you the same way.”

“But that’s possible. Just look at him and then look at me,” she has worked on her self-esteem since the first grade, but still…Jaime was way too handsome to be in love with someone like her.

“I’m looking at you, Bri and believe me, Jaime’s seeing the same thing as I do. You are kind, honourable, smart and lovely.”

~~~

The first night here is a big party in the cottage because Ned Stark is having a birthday. There are many people Brienne barely knows, but also many of them she knows too well.

Her gaze followed the group playing the foosball. It’ Bronn with Pia against Jaime and Cersei right now.

Brienne uttered a sight.

She was probably right with her assumptions. Cersei was very friendly with Jaime since they got here. She didn’t miss any opportunity to speak or even touch him.

 _This is funny_ , Brienne thought. We were supposed to get Cersei jealous, but she got jealous instead.

She went to the kitchen and poured another Cuba Libre for herself, already the third one.

_Or was it fourth?_

She saw the hug of the two of them shared after they defeated Pia and Bronn.

_Time for the next one._

She didn’t know when Jaime found her in the bathroom. “Brienne?” he asked her, watching her sitting on the bath-tub.

“Everything’s fine?”  
“Sure,” she nodded. “I’m just a bit dizzy.”

Jaime looked at her. “C’mon, lets put you in the bed,” he helped her to stand up. When they were going through the hall, Brienne spotted the indoor pool next to the terrace. “Oh, let's go swimming!” she broke herself from his arms and jumped to the pool.

_God that’s cold!_

“Brienne!” Jaime shouted behind her. “You should rest now, it’s not safe to swim when you’re drunk,” he followed her. He sighed when he spotted her in the pool already.

“Please, Brienne. You’ll catch the flu,” Jaime said to her.  
“Okay. Will you help me out?” she asked. He nodded and held his hand to her.

In that moment, Brienne pulled him into the water.

“For fuck sake, you’re crazy!” Jaime laughed and she smiled at him. “You know, that’s the first time I see you drunk.”  
“I’m not drunk!” Brienne protested. “I’m just a bit tipsy,” she looked at his face.

_There is the first time for everything._

Brienne grabbed his T-shirt and pressed her lips on his. But this time it’s not a chaste peck on the cheeks like they did at school a hundred times, this is real kiss. Brienne is a bit worried, because Jaime is passive in the beginning, but then he opened his lips and she slid her tongue to his mouth.

She didn’t know how much time they spent kissing in the pool, but Jaime broke away from her.

“We should stop this,” he said to her, looking at her drunk face. He can’t take advantage of her in that condition. “We should go upstairs.”

When they reached their room, Brienne leaned towards him again, wanted to kiss him once again, but Jaime pulled back. “This isn’t good idea, Brienne,” he told her and Brienne froze.

 _Because Cersei is certainly waiting for you in her room,_ she thought _. I’m just Brienne, Brienne the Beauty._

“I should help you to get from the wet clothes,” Jaime wanted to help but cut him off.  
“I don’t need your help! I can do that myself! Just go.”

Jaime shrugged and did as she said.

~~~

When she woke up in the morning, the first thing she realized is that Jaime is not here. Brienne reached for the glass of water she prepared yesterday on her nightstand. She hates hangovers. Always thirsty as hell.

On her way to the kitchen for another glass, she saw Jaime coming out of the room.

_Cersei’s room._

Jaime spotted her a second later. “It’s not what it looks like,” he said.

Brienne just laughed bitterly at him. “Of course it’s not.” No way she should believe Margaery that Jaime Lannister had feelings for Big Brienne.

She looked at him. “So now we’re done, right? You got Cersei back, so we can stop with this charade,” Brienne told him and went to shower.

She was lucky Margaery, Loras and Renly were going home a day earlier, so she didn’t have to spend one more day at Robert’s cottage.

After the two hours, they reached Brienne’s home. “Thanks for the ride, guys,” she took her backpack coming out of the car. Then she realized Renly got out of the car as well.

“What are you doing?” she asked Renly because she thought he’s going with Tyrells to their house.  
“It’s time to talk, Brienne,” Renly looked at her. “You’ve been avoiding me since October.”

Brienne uttered sighed. “I know, I’m really sorry, Renly. I didn’t know what to say. I had this stupid crush on you and I don’t know who sent the letter, but believe me, I would never tell you. When I saw you that day at the river with the letter in hand, I couldn’t look into your eyes. I had the feeling with the letter you feel I’m discouraging you to tell your parents the truth,” she moved closer to him. “Believe me, Renly, I never wanted you to be unhappy. I understand it was probably not the best idea-“ Brienne admitted. After all the things that happened in the last 24 hours, this felt like the right thing to do.

“You _had a_ crush on me?” he emphasized the past tense. “So, it’s Jaime Lannister, now?” he wanted to know. “I saw the way you looked at him, Brienne. That’s the way I look at Loras.”

Brienne smiled sadly. “Doesn’t matter now. Jaime got together with Cersei.”

“You know,” Renly said. “I’m really craving chocolate ice-cream right now,” he admitted. Brienne looked at him with surprise.  
“Ice-cream in winter?”  
“Yeah, the best time for ice-cream,” he nodded, and Brienne smiled. At least things seemed to get better with Renly.

~~~

Brienne was working on her calculus homework later that day when she heard her phone rang. She checked it with surprise. It was a message from Hyle, one of Jaime’s teammates, but she never talked with him. She opened the message and saw the video attached. Brienne clicked on it and the second she did, she stared on it with shock.

It is a video of her and Jaime, kissing in the pool and Hyle’s comment: Big Brienne is not as shy as we all thought.

She started crying.

The following day, Jaime didn’t pick her up, she saw him standing in front of his locker.

“Did you know that they were recording it?” she asked him directly. He looked confused.  
“What are you talking about?” Jaime didn’t understand, but she didn’t believe him. Hyle was his teammate, so why would he did something like that to his captain?

“I’m talking about the video,” she handed him her phone and played it.

Jaime watched it with disbelief. He handed her the phone back and without a word, he marched to the cafeteria.

Jaime saw red. He marched to the cafeteria and saw Hyle. He pulled him from the chair by the collar of his shirt and punched him in the face so hard that Brienne heard his nose got broken.

“What the fuck, man?” said Hyle angrily with blood on his face.  
“You’re asking _me_ that?” Jaime shouted at him back. Brienne started to get worried. She never saw him like that. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jaime pushed him. “Why did you record the video and posted it? Why are you such a fucking cunt?”

“Calm down, man,” Connington appeared next to them. Jaime turned to him.  
“Get out of here, Connington,” Jaime said warily. “It’s not your business.”

“Why are you making such a big deal of it, Lannister?” he asked. “It’s just a Big Brienne we’re talking about,” Connington chuckled and at that moment, Jaime punched him in the face as well

Then the entire room erupted.

Locke, Hoat and Wagstaff grabbed Jaime and Hyle hit him in the stomach.

“Jaime!” Brienne ignored the little voice in her head telling she cannot beat four guys and pushed Hyle away from Jaime, while Connington punched him in the face.

Brienne saw the torn lip and the blood on his face. Connington bent down to look Jaime in the face. “You’re such a wretch, Lannister. Get beaten up for such a freak.”

Jaime gave him the coldest glare and then he spit in his face.

Before Brienne could stop him, Locke who was holding Jaime together with Hoat, stepped on Jaime’s right hand.

Jaime screamed loudly.

Brienne kicked Hoat’s crotch to get him away from Jaime. Before Connington, Hyle and Wagstaff could do more, Sandor Clegane kept them back.

She looked at Jaime’s wrist, blood pouring on the floor. “Call an ambulance!” she shouted.

_I’m going to throw up_

After the ambulance arrived, they gave Jaime some pills for the pain which put him to sleep. The hospital was not far away from their school, but Brienne thought they spent hours in that ambulance. When they finally got to the hospital, they didn’t let Brienne go with Jaime to the emergency room because she was not a family member.

“Inform his parents, if you can,” the nurse told her when Brienne protested. “I can let you in with them.”

She panicked.

_C’mon, Brienne. Think!_

Brienne didn’t have any contact with his father or Tyrion and she had no idea how to get them. She looked around herself helplessly and then saw Jaime backpack laying on the floor which she took in case they would need his personal documents.

She opened the small packet and sighed with relief when she found his phone. She quickly ran through the contacts and find Tywin number.

“Mister Lannister?” Brienne said when he picked it up. “Brienne is here. Jaime is in the hospital.”

~~~

Jaime slowly opened his eyes. All the lights around were making it worse for him.

 _White walls,_ he realized.

He saw blurry, but he could tell three people are standing in front of him. He blinked quickly.

His father, Tyrion and Brienne.

He smiled. Brienne is here

“Jaime!” his younger brother yelped when he realized Jaime woke up.  
“How are you feeling?” his father demand to know. “What about your hand, does it hurt much?”

Jaime looked at his hand, currently in plaster and then looked around the room. He was in a hospital room. “What happened?” he asked. Jaime remembered punching Hyle and then Hoat stepping on his hand.

“Your wrist is double fractured, so they had to operate it,” Tywin informed him. “But the doctor said it should be fine in two months,” he added when he saw his son’s worried face.

“Oh, okay,” Jaime nodded. Then he looked to Brienne. “Hi,” he tried to smile at her, but his head was still pounding so it probably didn’t work that much.

“Hi, Jaime,” she moved closer to his bed. “I’m glad you are awake now,” she smiled at him.  
“Can you leave us for a minute?” Jaime asked his dad and brother. They nodded.

“You are such an idiot, Jaime,” she told him when they were alone.  
“Am I?”  
“Of course! It could end even worse than with fractured wrist!” she almost shouted at him. “And because of their stupid insults, you’re hurt now so you can’t play basketball.”

Jaime chuckled. “Brienne,” he grabbed her with his left hand. “Basketball is the last thing on my mind right now.”

“Yeah I understand,” she nodded. “Cersei-“  
“No, you don’t!” he cut her of. “This is not about Cersei, Brienne. It’s about you!”

“What?”  
“I love you, Brienne, okay?” he shouted. “I’ve loved you since the day we went to the cinema to see the movie about Goldenhand the Just and you quoted most of the dialogues because you’ve read the book!” Brienne starred at him. That was the third week of their fake-dating relationship.

“I know we’ve agreed on the fake-dating, but I couldn’t help myself, Brienne,” Jaime continued. “You are gentle, lovely, funny and smart. You shouldn’t be surprised that I’ve fallen for you.”

“But what about Cersei?” Brienne blabbed. _Was he really saying he likes her?_

“I stopped carrying about Cersei already in November. But after the Christmas party, you said that all of it was about pretending. I thought we were actually having a good time.”

“Sure, we did. But if you stopped carrying about Cersei, why did you stop me at the cottage?” she wanted to know.

“Brienne, I thought you were wasted that night. I wanted to kiss you, but I couldn’t take advantage of you in that condition. It wouldn’t be right,” he explained.

“But why did you go to Cersei’s room then?” Brienne demand explanation.

“I went there, yes,” he admitted. “I didn’t sleep in our room, because I thought you wouldn’t want me there, but I went to Bronn’s room and slept there. You can ask him if you want. I went to talk with Cersei in the morning. She told me we should go back together that night, so I told her I’m in love with you and we can’t go back together.”

Brienne thought she was dreaming. _Was he speaking the truth?_

“You were so angry with me that morning, so I thought it would be better to deal with this later, calmly,” he continued. “Didn’t work, though.”

Brienne smiled. “Well, you definitely didn’t act calmly at the cafeteria.”

“I know,” Jaime nodded. “I just saw red. I realized how fucking disgusting they were and then you thought I knew about it-“

“I know you didn’t, now,” Brienne caressed his injured hand. “I’m sorry for this. You shouldn’t punch them just because they said I’m freak. I’m used to these insults.”

“Of course I had to do it! You are not freak, Brienne,” he looked at her. “You’re perfect. To me,” and then he pressed his lips on hers.

“So, Uhm,” he cleared his throat, “I’ll be honoured to be your boyfriend if you’ll have me.”

She smiled at him. “Yeah, I think I’ll keep you for a while.”

~~~

“You know, I’m glad you two are together,” Galladon told her. It was April, the weather was finally getting nice, so they celebrated Selwyn’s birthday on their porch.

“Well,” Jaime looked at her lovingly. “So am I,” and gave her quick kiss. “Who would know that letters you wrote when you were small kiddo will turn to this.”

Her brother smiled at them. “Yeah, who would think that?”  
Brienne didn’t really like the tone of his voice. “Gall?”

He gave her a smile. “I had to send them, Brienne,” Galladon admitted. “You were such a nerd during that time, doing homework of watching some stupid history shows,” he ignored her “hey!”. “I wanted you to live a bit,” he said.

“Oh gods, I hate you!“  
“No, you don’t,” he controlled. “Because now you have a handsome boyfriend to spend time with.”

She looked at Jaime’s smug face.

_I do, don’t I?_  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I would love to know what you think :)


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